Shall We Meet Again
by Matthew Labyorteaux Fan
Summary: Albert is devastated about the love of his life's passing. He loved her so much and couldn't believe it when he heard the news. Years have passed now and Albert has gotten the opportunity of his life. In order to pursue his career he moves to Sleepy Eye. When he runs into a familiar face he hadn't seen in years, what will he do? What will he say? And will the past come back to him?
1. Chapter 1: The hurt

**If anyone wanted to know, this story is as if The Last Farewell never happened so the town is still standing up straight.**

1881:

Albert was lying on his bed, crying his eyes out.

Throughout the past few days, it had been like a routine. He would stay up all night silently bawling until he fell asleep. He would wake up at a late hour, eat very little, go to school late, have to stay after school later because of his absence, go to the lake, cry, go home, regect his homework, do his afternoon chores, pick at his supper, go up to his side of the loft, and the routine would repeat.

If you are wondering why this thirteen year old boy is acting this way, it is because he recently got news that the love of his life passed away. Her name was Syliva Webb.

Sylvia had been raped by a man in a mask a few months prior. The man turned out to be Mr. Hartwig, the towns blacksmith. A couple of months later after the incident, Sylvia was found to be pregnant. Since Albert had spent so much time with Sylvia, there was a rumor that started that Albert was the father of the unborn baby. No matter how many times he told people he wasn't, no one believed him except his friends, family and a few other people that had kind hearts. Sylvia's father forbit Albert from seeing his daughter since he too, believed that Albert had bad intentions and was not a good influence.

One day, the two lovebirds decided to run off together and get married. Albert would help raise the baby as if it was his.

In the day of there elope, Albert had accidentally gave away where Sylvia was to Mr. Hartwig while he was on his way to get some supplies him and Sylvia would need for their new life together.

When Albert had gone back to the barn where Sylvia was, Mr. Hartwig was there, trying to attack her again.

 _It all happened so fast._ Albert thought to himself. One minute Sylvia was climbing up the lader and the next, she was falling and landed hard on the ground. The next thing he knew after that, Sylvia was saying her last words to him. He promised that the they would get married when she got better but that day never came. He hated that gut feeling that the last words he spoke to her were somewhat lies. He knew in that moment that she wouldn't get better but he couldn't admit it to himself. He had to leave a few moments after she fell asleep. He really thought that he would be able to see her again and have a conversation with her.

After that day, everyone got the news that Sylvia had passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her father said that he was going to move to Sleepy Eye and that there would not be a funeral and that Sylvia would be buried next to her mother, which made Albert even more upset. He didn't want to see the love of his life in a coffin, still, not moving. But he also kind of wanted a funeral just to see her one last time, even if she wasn't... alive.

Albert love Sylvia so much and still does that he had gotten a few thoughts here and there that he should end his life so he could be with her again but he knew that would make his whole family devistated and he didn't want that. He knew he would never, ever, find a girl that he could love more or equal to Sylvia because she was too special to him.

His also didn't want his heart to break like it already did.

His eyes formed warm tears and released while falling down his cheek.

Memories, good and bad, ran through his mind again as he cried himself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: The Train Ride

1887:

It was the twenty-one-year old's last day at Church in Walnut Grove for a while.

A few weeks back, Albert got the opportunity to become something he always wanted to be. His dream... a doctor. He had always wanted to pursue that as a career forever, especially since some traumatizing events happened to him like his addiction to morphine a few years back and when he found out that he had a deadly form of Leukemia. Through time, Albert found ways to manage his disease.

While he was training to become a doctor for the past four years, he found himself enjoying every minute of it. He helped out a few people while at medical school that had a few minor incidents that he was allowed to help with. Now that he got the opportunity to be a doctor full time, he would be happy to help people out all the time.

The job would be in Sleepy Eye, a town not too far away.

Albert was glad that he would be so close to home and could visit whenever he had time. He was leaving the next day and got the second train out since the first train was leaving fairly early and he wanted his family to be there at the train station with him. When Albert was saying his goodbyes to them, there were a lot of tears and laughter. They were all reminded and shared their fond memories of him before people had to board the train and leave.

"We will really miss you son. Please remember to visit." Charles said to Albert.

"I will miss you all too Pa and I will," Albert replied. "Thank you for adopting me and helping me get through part of life."

The train made a loud whistle noise.

"Any last passengers going to Sleepy Eye, a border now." A man said into the crowd.

"I guess that's my cue to go," Albert said, turning back around to his family. "Hopefully I'll see you all very soon." He gave everyone another hug and aborted the train. He walked down the aisle of the train cart and saw many people. Some were sleeping and some seemed to stare straight at him as he moved past them.

When Albert found an empty seat, he sat down and out his luggage bag next to him. He was lucky to get a window seat since he could get motion sickness easily. He looked out the window and saw his family standing there, watching the train as it started to move slowly. He waved at them and they waved back.

Albert could tell that Laura was trying to hold back her tears and he smiled at her. He was going to miss his family very much so but he was so happy that he was going to achieve his dream.

He didn't know what was going to come of his career, but he knew that he was going to be the only doctor in Sleepy Eye which was a big step since there was a lot of people living there. And depending on the workload, he might not get as much sleep as other nights but he was willing to take that risk as long as he got to do what he always wanted to, help people.

 _Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls. Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls. Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls._ Albert replayed constantly in his head. It kinda had a ring to it. _Doctor Albert Quinn Ingalls._ It still seemed surreal to him. He looked out the train window and saw all sorts of trees passing by. He saw a few towns in the far distance but nowhere the train would stop at.

Albert heard a bang and turned around. His eyes glanced around but saw nothing except people looking forward or sleeping or reading. He turned back around and closed his eyes. He was tired and he just needed a short rest.

"Help! Help! Someone please!" A woman yelled from the back of the train cart. "Is there a doctor on the train?! Please!"

Albert's eyes shot open and almost tripped as he got up from his seat. He rushed over to the mid-aged woman and knelt down to the man next to her.

"Are... are you a d... doctor?" The woman asked in a scared tone.

"Yes," Albert replied confidently. "I'm going to be the doctor in Sleepy Eye."

"Oh." The woman gasped. "Can you do anything doctor, my husband, he just... collapsed. I don't know what happened"

Albert put two fingers on the man's neck to check for a pulse and there was one. "Umm... do you happen to know what was going on before he collapsed? Did he show any signs?"

The lady gulped and looked back down at the young doctor. "Well his breathing was very weird and he started sweating. Umm... when I asked him what was wrong he just said that his chest hurt. Other than that, I'm not sure."

Albert calculated what the lady had told him and what he saw in his head and came up with an answer. He turned to someone who worked on the train. "Can I have a damp towel please?"

When the worker ran off to get the towel, the lady asked, "What happened to him? Will he be okay?"

Albert let out a breath. "I believe your husband had a minor heart attack. He will be okay but when he wakes up, he will need to take it easy. When the gentleman comes back with the damp towel, I will stay here with you until he feels better. He should wake up in a couple minutes but because he just had a heart attack, there is a chance that it may happen again so make sure he gets lots of exercise, eats healthy, and doesn't work too hard."

"So he _will_ be okay?" The lady asked biting her bottom lip.

"Yes, he will be," Albert replied. "Just remember what I told you because if not then this might happen again.

"Yes, I understand." The woman replied nodding her head.

When the worker arrived back with the moist towel, Albert placed it on the lady's husband's forehead and patted it a few times.

It took a second but the man started to regain his conciseness and his wife let out a sigh of relief. She knelt down next to her husband and stroked his cheek. "Oh love, you're okay." She turned to Albert. "Oh thank you, doctor, thank you so much. How can I repay you?"

"There is no need for that. I'm just glad I could help." Albert was the kind of guy that didn't always except payback, especially in this situation. He didn't do anything major. All he did was tell what happened to the man. It's not like he had to perform surgery or prescribe any medication. Besides, as long as he got to help someone than that's a good idea of pay for him.

"Are you sure?"

Albert nodded his head.

For the next thirty minutes, Albert sat next to the lady and her husband. He would check every so often to see how the man was doing.

The couple had made conversations with the young doctor about his life and why he wanted to become a doctor for a living.

"Well I always wanted to help people," Albert started. "It was always just a gut feeling that I should be the person to help people who are ill or aren't in the best condition because there will always be people who are. And if someone gets hurt and there isn't anyone to help them than what would they do? Some people might not get better on their own and no one deserves to suffer... I know what it's like to suffer and have someone there and by my side when I needed it. I want to be that person who is there." He finished.

"That's amazing," the man told him. "I'm glad you chose that path and I know for a fact that people will definitely appreciate your help.

"Thank you," Albert replied to the compliment.

A moment of silence passed by.

"Oh, I don't think we properly introduced ourselves." The lady said. They had been talking for a while now and forgot to mention it." My name is Helen and this is John." She said pointing to her husband.

Albert smiled. "And I'm Albert... Albert Ingalls."

"So where are you from and where are you going to work, doctor Ingalls?" John asked.

Albert sighed and replied, "Well I was born in Winoka and was an orphan for a while and then I was introduced to my now new family. When they moved back to Walnut Grove, they took me with them and adopted me shortly after. Umm... I'm going to work in Sleepy Eye. I was looking for places to work for my career path and Sleepy Eye was one of the cities who needed a doctor, and since it was close to home, I had to take it because who wouldn't want to have a good job and be close to family at the same time?"

"Are you married doctor?" Helen asked.

Albert blushed and giggled. "No, I am not married and I think I will just stick to work until I get used to it and then maybe I will find someone."

"Well you are a very handsome young man, so I wouldn't be surprised if some young ladies were looking at you," Helen added in.

The young doctor could feel his cheeks flush red.

The rest of the train ride to Sleepy Eye went well. He got to go back to his seat since John was feeling much better. The food they served on the train didn't taste as well as he remembered but it was decent. After he ate, he got tired so he fell asleep.

Time flew by and the next thing he knew, the train's loud whistle rung in his ears as he woke up and got up from his seat. He glanced outside and saw the sign at the train station say, 'Welcome To Sleepy Eye.'

There he was, in the city where he would be able to pursue his dream.


	3. Chapter 3: The First Day

When Albert departed from the train station, he looked around at his surroundings. It felt sort of  
strange to be in a city, all alone, where he would have to meet all new people and guide himself  
around. The only city he knew front and back was Winoka and the only town he knew front and back  
was Walnut Grove.

This was going to be a new chapter in his life. He was going to have to find his way around, even  
though he knew part of the city. He would also have to get used to meeting new people which he  
wasn't too good at.

Albert reached into his pocket which held his pocket watch. He flipped open the brass case and the  
small clock read three thirty. He decided that he was going to head over to his office and get settled  
down.

While he was walking, he made sure to look around at his surroundings since this would be the place  
he lived and worked, he would have to get used to it. He lived in the city a couple times before but he  
never got used to some of the chaos that happened. For example, drunk men yelling and running out  
of the saloons making a ruckus all night and during the day. Sleepy Eye was also a highly populated  
city so there was a lot of noise either way.

Albert looked at the buildings he was passing until he found his office. There was a small plaque on  
the door which read, 'Doctor Albert Ingalls.' He smiled and remembered that the key would be put  
under the mat when he got there.

Surely enough when he checked, the key was there. Albert picked up the key and put it through the  
lock on the door, before he twisted it, and then unlocked. He pushed open the door, only to see a  
fairly large room with all sorts of medicines in little containers, packages, and bottles on the shelves.  
On another shelf, there were all sorts of instruments and utensils for a doctor to use. Everything was  
so neat that Albert feared that if he were to move so much as one thing that it would be all ruined.  
There was a desk in the center of the room, that he could work at, while straight across, a few beds  
were located in which the patients could lie on.

It was definitely bigger than Doctor Baker's office, that's for sure. In fact, it must have been about  
twice, maybe three times the size.

Albert still found it crazy that he was finally here, that this whole office was his! His name was on the  
door! He smiled a big smile, from ear-to-ear, out of joy and happiness.

Albert was lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling, still recollecting about the events of the day. One of  
his favorite parts of the day was in meeting some of the people who now lived there in Sleepy Eye  
who had brought some treats to his office. He was grateful for the people who thought of him and  
hence took the time out of their busy day to stop by and say hello. He felt welcomed already.

The mayor of Sleepy Eye was generous enough to find him a room across the street from his office  
where he could live. He had paid for Albert's rent for the first two months, so he could settle down and  
get used to the city.

The city's rent was somewhat high, but being a doctor, Albert wouldn't have that much of a struggle  
to pay for it when the time to pay arrived.

He was going to love his job.

Albert was woken up in the middle of the night by a loud knocking on the door.

"Doctor! Doctor! Hurry! My Pa got shot in the saloon, and he's hurtin' and bleedin' really bad,"  
a young boy's voice said through the door.

Albert toppled out of bed and put on his doctor's outfit in less than thirty seconds worth of time. He  
grabbed his medical bag and opened the door.

"Okay, what's going on again?" Albert asked the little boy in front of him.  
The boy had tears rolling down his face. "My Pa," he said between breaths. "He... he got shot. Please  
help him..."

"Where is he?"

"At the saloon."

"Okay, let's go." Albert ran out of the building and down the street.

When Albert rushed into the two brown saloon doors, he saw a crowd of people standing in a circle. He  
passed through the people and sat down next to the injured man.

He saw that the man had sweat falling from his face and could clearly tell that he was in pain.

"Doctor... my leg."

The young doctor glanced down at the man's leg and sighed.

Blood was gushing out of his leg and he was without a doubt losing blood quickly.

Albert told the man what he was going to do, and then got prepared.

When it became time to take out the bullet, the man and Albert were both scared. Albert had never  
before been required, to remove a bullet from someone's leg, but in medical school, they had shown  
him how so he could only hope for the best. As for the man, he had never been shot before.

It had to be a quick procedure so the man didn't have any medication. Even if he did, it wouldn't work  
quickly enough to help with the pain of the procedure.

Albert reassured the man that everything was going to be okay, as long as he kept calm and barely  
moved. The man scrunched his eyes together as Albert pushed the tweezers into his flesh, feeling for  
the bullet.

The man let out a groan and squeezed his hands into a fist.

After about a minute or so had passed, Albert located the bullet. He slowly pulled it out and let out a  
sigh. Afterwards, he cleaned out the bullet wound and wrapped it up.

It had felt like a very long night for Albert even though it only took about an hour and a half. In the  
end, he was so tired that he could fall asleep right there but he had to help get the man and the man's  
son home.

Finally, when Albert got back to his room, he didn't even bother changing back into his night clothes.  
He just fell on the bed and drifted off.

Note: I wanted to thank kandidi for beta reading this chapter, if I were you, I would go check out her stories on here, they are great!Until next time, ~Matthew Labyorteaux Fan


	4. Chapter 4: The Letter

The next few days went by in a flash. There was a fever swooping through Sleepy Eye so Albert was going back and fourth from his office to peoples' homes.

One morning, Albert went to the post office to drop off a letter that would be mailed to his family back in Walnut Grove.

"Hello Ms. Clark," Albert said to the post lady behind the short counter.

"Hello doctor. Getting used to the city?" Ms. Clark asked.

"Yes, I am," Albert responded. "It's crazy to think that something happens here everyday." He handed her his letter he wanted to get out.

She nodded. "is this for your folks back home?"

"Yeah, I'd figure i'd call them but since the telephone is down, I'd thought I'd write them."

"That's nice," Ms. Clark said, walking over to the box where all the mail to be shipped was and dropped Albert's letter in.

Albert was about to stroll off until Ms. Clark cut him off in his tracks. "Oh doctor?... before I forget, there's a letter here for you. It was here this morning when I walked in. There is no ones name on it except yours. I bet you it's a secret."

Albert smiled and took the letter. He looked at the hand writing on the envelope and it was surprisingly neat, with the cursive lettering flowing over the paper.

'To Albert', was all that was written. Most people just called him 'doctor' or 'doctor Ingalls' so he found that a little odd. "And you don't know who this is from Miss. Clark?"

"Doctor, if I knew who it was from, I would tell you, wouldn't I?"

The young doctor nodded. "Yeah," he sighed. "Thanks." And with that, he put the letter in his brief case and was on his way.

He was eager and curious to open the mysterious letter, so when he got back to his office, he sat down at his desk and just stared at it. He put his finger through the crease of the letter and pulled it apart. He was interrupted by a knock on his office door. He had to attend someone who had the flu and then someone else who had a problem and so on, for the rest of the day.

It was now the end of the day and Albert went to his place. He put his brief case down on his bed and the letter flew out. Albert bent down to pick it up. Since he was so busy for the day, he had totally forgot about it. He sat down on his bed next to his brief case and wondered again who it could be from. He gently pulled the piece of paper out of the envelope and opened it up. It read...

Dear Albert,

I am happy that you are in town because I wanted to meet up with you for so very long now. I haven't forgot about you in all these years but when I saw your name on the doctors office door, I was glad. Since my father made us move here a while back, I always had hope that we shall meet again, but he never let me send a single back to you. He thought it would ruin things. He passed away a few months ago and I was left on my own. I know that you probably moved on but I'm glad that I might see an old friend again. There is a new restaurant about seven buildings from your office if you would like to meet up there tomorrow at seven-thirty. I'll be there but it's perfectly fine if you don't want to come. But if you do, you may be a little confused but i'll do my best to clear things up for you.

Sincerely: An old friend

Albert took a second to think. He had no clue who the letter could be from and he didn't recall any of his friends moving to Sleepy Eye. He made up his mind that he was going to figure out who this 'mystery person' was tomorrow evening. He was but nervous to see who it was.


	5. Chapter 5: Mystery Person

The next day went by kinda slow for Albert. He didn't have many patients to attend to which he enjoyed. When it was time for him to go to the restaurant and meet up with this 'mystery' person, he got very anxious. He walked passed the stores and the townspeople and finally made it to the restaurant. He walked in and was greeted by one of the workers.

"Hello doc," the woman greeted him.

"Hello," Albert nodded.

"Umm, you have someone waiting for you. She's sitting over there," she said pointing towards the correct direction.

Albert nodded once again, "Thanks." He saw a young lady with her head down, twiddling her fingers. He walked up to her. "Hello Ms," he gently greeted. He pulled the letter from his coat pocket. "Were you the one who wrote this letter to me?"

"Yeah, sit down," the young lady replied, lifting up her head with a smile.

Albert sat down in the chair across from her and didn't recognize it at first but the moment he did, his face went pale as what he saw brought back some memories. He shook his head, knowing that his mind must be playing some trick on him. "I'm sorry, you... you kinda look like an old friend." Gosh, that was a long time ago, he thought to himself.

The young lady smiled. "So... does that mean you know who I am?"

Albert laughed under his breath and sighed. "I don't know. The old friend I remember is no longer here."

"Who is this person you're thinking of?"

Albert shook his head and looked down as his cheeks flushed red. "Oh, she was such a nice girl."

"What was her name?" she asked gently.

He sighed, "Sylvia."

The lady put a grin on her face.

Albert looked at her. "You just really remind me of her," he sighed. He was quiet for a moment. "You never told me your name."

The lady had a small smile on her face. "Do you really wanna know?"

"Well, I mean, yeah," Albert shrugged.

"My name is... please don't make a big deal about-"

"Why would I? You said you were an old friend, so I like to re-connect with old friends-"

"Sylvia," she replied quickly.


	6. Chapter 6: Realized

Albert didn't say a thing, just looked dozed off with a confused expression on his face.

"Now I know you might be a little confused, but I can explain."

Albert had gotten a little nervous. "No, you're just some lady who happens to have the same name as-"

"No Albert!" he voice was stern. "I am Sylvia... Sylvia Webb. Can't you tell?"

Tears started forming in Albert's eyes. "That c... can't b... be. She... she's dead."

Sylvia just stared at him with a sense of love.

Albert took a deeper look at her and his brain snapped. "S... Sylvia?"

She nodded.

Albert rose from his seat and slowly made his way the few feet to where Sylvia was sitting.

She stood up and the two embraced in a long hug that neither wanted to let go of.

Albert smiled and shed a tear. "Oh Sylvia," was all he could say and it came out as a whisper.


	7. Chapter 7: The Explanation

Hey guys, I am so very sorry to say that I have been so caught up with school work and everything that I am not too sure when I'll ever be able to post on here. I love this site and writing stories, but with school work and my book coming out sometime soon hopefully, I just don't have the time to write. The book that I will be publishing is a Sequal to the 1986 move, Deadly Friend, which for everyone who hasn't seen that movie, I uploaded it on my youtube channel and guess who the main character is... Matthew Labyorteaux, which you all probably know him as Albert Quinn Ingalls. But anyways, since That book is technically a fan fiction, it wouldn't be selling in stores, but I'll be selling it on EBay and locally, so I'll tell you guys when it'll be out. I also can't keep most of the proceeds for that book, so 75% of the proceeds will go towards great causes. Thanks and for now, here is the next chapter of Shall We Meet Again.

The two stood there, enjoying every moment of the hug.

When they both managed to let go of each other, they sat down in their seats at the small, round table.

"Gosh," Albert said, through his wet eyes and sweat trickling down his face. "It's been so long. But h... how are you here now? It doesn't make any sense."

Sylvia sighed and shook her head back and forth. "It's a long story."

Albert looked down at his pocket watch for the time. "Well, I have enough time. How about we discuss it over dinner, on me, for old friends reuniting."

"May I take your order?" a man asked, looking at the two.

They both ordered and Sylvia began talking when the waiter left.

"So, I guess I'll try and summarize the story so it will be easier for you to understand."

Albert nodded his head. "Okay."

Sylvia sighed."Well, the last time I saw you, I was fourteen. I still remember the conversation we had the night I fell from that ladder. I wanted to run away with you, I really did. It was a good plan. I just remember not being able to keep my eyes open anymore, so I fell asleep. When I woke up, everyone was gone. I remember my father coming into my bedroom and telling me that we were going to move to Sleepy Eye. He told me what the new plan was and I didn't want to go along with it, at all. I didn't _want_ to move to Sleepy Eye, and I didn't _want_ to leave you, but I had no choice. I wasn't even allowed to write to you." She took a deep breath. "The day we got there, I felt like something was _off_. Not about moving, but just _off_. So, I went to the doctor that worked here and he told me... that I had lost the baby."

Albert's jaw dropped and he felt tears forming in his eye sockets. "Oh, Sylvia... I am so so sorry. I wish I could do something."

"It's fine," she shivered. "It was a while ago anyway, so I've gotten used to it over the years." She thought for a second. "But I also don't think I was ready at the age of fourteen to have a child and raise it without a father and all."


End file.
